April 19 coronavirus news

By Helen Regan, Jenni Marsh, Laura Smith-Spark, Fernando Alfonso III and Amir Vera, CNN

Updated 10:02 p.m. ET, April 19, 2020
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2:15 a.m. ET, April 19, 2020

Broadway star has leg amputated due to coronavirus complications

From CNN's Amir Vera

Nick Cordero attends the Beyond Yoga x Amanda Kloots collaboration launch event, in New York City, on August 27.
Nick Cordero attends the Beyond Yoga x Amanda Kloots collaboration launch event, in New York City, on August 27. Noam Galai/Getty Images

Broadway actor Nick Cordero is recovering after having his right leg amputated following complications with coronavirus, his wife said.

The Tony Award-nominated star has been battling coronavirus for more than two weeks. His wife, Amanda Kloots, has kept fans informed by sharing updates on his health on her Instagram.

Saturday was day 18 of Cordero being sedated in the intensive care unit while battling coronavirus, Kloots told her social media followers.

While hospitalized, he started having clotting issues on his right leg, and could not get blood down to his toes. The blood thinners he got to fix the clotting issues were affecting his blood pressure and causing internal bleeding in his intestines, she said. 

"They had him on blood thinners for the clotting, unfortunately the blood thinners were causing other issues," she said Saturday. "The right leg will be amputated today."

Read the full story here:

1:50 a.m. ET, April 19, 2020

In 1911, another epidemic swept through China. That time, the world came together

From Paul French for CNN

In 1911, a deadly epidemic spread through China and threatened to become a pandemic. Its origins appeared to be related to the trade in wild animals, but at the time no one was sure. 

Lockdowns, quarantine measures, the wearing of masks, travel restrictions, the mass cremation of victims, and border controls were deployed to try to lower the infection rate. Yet more than 60,000 people died in modern-day northeast China, making it one of the world's largest epidemics at the time. 

When the disease was eventually brought under control, the Chinese government convened the International Plague Conference in the northern city of Shenyang -- close to the epicenter of the outbreak. 

In attendance were virologists, bacteriologists, epidemiologists and disease experts from many of the world's major powers -- the United States, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and France.

The purpose of the conference: Experts wanted to find the cause of the outbreak, learn which suppression techniques were most effective, discover why the disease had spread so far so fast, and assess what could be done to prevent a second wave.

Learning the lessons: As the world faces a pandemic characterized by a lack of a globally co-ordinated response and multilateral effort on the part of political leaders, the collaborative aspects of the 1911 conference in China are worth reconsidering.

Read more about the Great Manchurian Plague and global responses to it here:

1:30 a.m. ET, April 19, 2020

Celebrities unite to show support for underserved communities battling coronavirus

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

CNN
CNN

Celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Taraji P. Henson and Sean "Diddy" Combs came together to show their support for underserved communities hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. 

During "The Color of Covid," an hour-long special hosted by CNN's Don Lemon and political commentator Van Jones on Saturday night, celebs put a spotlight on challenges faced by black and brown communities, provided names of organizations helping with relief efforts, and gave words of encouragement and action to viewers.

Here are some of those messages:

Actress Taraji P. Henson: "I'm reaching out to those of you in communities of color who may be feeling lost, heartbroken and alone during this time of uncertainty. I want you to know that what you feel is real. I see you and I'm with you."

Rapper Snoop Dogg: "Spend some time with your loved ones, get in tune with yourself. Go to Instagram, watch some funny stuff, check out some good movies. Keep your spirits up."

Sean "Diddy" Combs: "I want to say to my people: Let's not wait on nobody to save us. Let's use this as a reset."

"Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda: "As Covid-19 continues to devastate the world's health and economy, a new conversation is taking place. In our country, black and brown communities are getting hit the hardest. Luckily, organizations such as the Hispanic Federation are here today, just as they've been for the last 30 years to help."

Musician will.i.am: "I want to take this moment in time to show a lot of love and appreciation for all of the nurses and the doctors, fighting in the hospital in the front line. I also want to thank all of the drivers and delivery folk, and all of the people working in the supermarket."

Actress America Ferrera: "I want to say 'thank you' from the bottom of my heart to all the amazing people showing up everyday to provide critical services through this crisis. Some of those people are our nation's farmworkers. They're putting their lives and health on the line by planting, picking, and packing the food we all need to get through this Covid-19 crisis."

Read more here

1:14 a.m. ET, April 19, 2020

The Disney Bedtime Hotline is back to help parents get their kids to sleep

From CNN's Leah Asmelash

Mickey Mouse and friends celebrate the 60th anniversary of Disneyland on July 17, 2015 in Anaheim, California.
Mickey Mouse and friends celebrate the 60th anniversary of Disneyland on July 17, 2015 in Anaheim, California. Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images

Parents in the United States, this one's for you.

Can't get your little one to sleep, especially being stuck inside during the coronavirus pandemic? The Disney Bedtime Hotline is here to help.

Making its return from last year, fans -- both the young and the young at heart -- can hear a bedtime message from one of five Disney characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck or Goofy.

To hear a message, dial 1-877-7-MICKEY and select the character you want to hear from. The call will then transfer to the selected character, who will have a special good night message before the line hangs up.

Read more here.

12:54 a.m. ET, April 19, 2020

Singapore had a model coronavirus response, then cases spiked. What happened?

Analysis from CNN's James Griffiths

A security guard checks the temperature of a migrant worker leaving a dormitory on April 17, in Singapore.
A security guard checks the temperature of a migrant worker leaving a dormitory on April 17, in Singapore. Ore Huiying/Getty Images

Less than a month ago, Singapore was being hailed as one of the countries that had got its coronavirus response right. 

Encouragingly for the rest of the world, the city-state seemed to have suppressed cases without imposing the restrictive lockdown measures endured by millions elsewhere.

And then the second wave hit, hard. Since March 17, Singapore's number of confirmed coronavirus cases grew from 266 to over 5,900, according to data from Johns Hopkins University

So what went wrong? 

Migrant workers: The answer appears to lie in overlooked clusters of cases among migrant workers living in cramped dormitories and an underestimation of the speed at which those infections could spread through a city where lockdown measures had not been put in place.

Life as normal: Because Singapore was testing widely and isolating all those who were potentially contagious, it was able to remain relatively open and continue functioning as usual. This attitude was only viable if infections from overseas were kept out, and new potential cases were detected and dealt with quickly.

Rapid spread: Once this measure failed, the speed at which the virus could pass from person to person was greater than it would be in a place with heavy lockdown and social distancing measures.

For more on how Singapore's experience shows relaxing too soon can backfire, read here:

12:34 a.m. ET, April 19, 2020

Global coronavirus death toll surpasses 160,000

Mortician and funeral director Bryan Clayton inspects names on a row of cardboard caskets, containing the bodies of deceased before they are cremated at Maryland Cremation services in Millersville, Maryland, on April 17.
Mortician and funeral director Bryan Clayton inspects names on a row of cardboard caskets, containing the bodies of deceased before they are cremated at Maryland Cremation services in Millersville, Maryland, on April 17. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

The global death toll from the coronavirus has now passed 160,000 people, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

At least 160,717 people have died from Covid-19 and there are more than 2.3 million cases worldwide.

Here are the countries with the most number of fatalities, according to JHU:

  • United States: 38,903 deaths
  • Italy: 23,227
  • Spain: 20,639
  • France: 19,349
  • United Kingdom: 15,498
12:23 a.m. ET, April 19, 2020

US reports more than 33,400 new coronavirus cases in one day

From CNN's Alta Spells

There are at least 734,969 coronavirus cases in the Unites States, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally.

At least 38,903 people have died.

On Saturday, 33,494 new cases were reported and 1,849 people died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.   

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories, as well as all repatriated cases.

CNN’s map, which uses JHU data, refreshes every 15 minutes:

 

12:15 a.m. ET, April 19, 2020

Charles Barkley: We need to take better care of our health and bodies

CNN
CNN

Retired basketball player Charles Barkley said on CNN's "The Color of Covid" that the coronavirus pandemic, which is disproportionately impacting African Americans, is showing the need for better health care and better diets.

"We as black people, we have to accept the fact there is systematic racism. But that does not give you a reason to go out and be overweight, have diabetes," Barkley said.

"We got to eat better, we need better access to health care, we need better access to being able to work out, and things like that. But unless we get better health care which is part of the system, unless we learn to work out better and take better care of our bodies, we are always going to be at a disadvantage," he said.

On learning from coronavirus: "There have been people in our community begging us for years to take this seriously so I think this virus is trying to teach us about wellness and about oneness and I think it's been there we just got a listen to it," he said.

Not an option for everyone: "There are some people who don't have the information that we have, there are some people who have sat down in ghettos, and they don't get the information, and sadly they don't have access to that. They live in food ghettos so I don't want to be hard on everyone and I don't want to blame people," Barkley said.

Watch more:

11:52 p.m. ET, April 18, 2020

China reports 16 new coronavirus cases, the lowest one-day tally in a month

From Anna Kam and Alex Lin in Hong Kong

Volunteers spray disinfectant in the compounds of a school in Weifang, China, on April 12.
Volunteers spray disinfectant in the compounds of a school in Weifang, China, on April 12. STR/AFP/Getty Images

China reported 16 new confirmed coronavirus cases at the end of day Saturday, according to the country's National Health Commission (NHC), the lowest daily increase since March 17.

No additional deaths were reported.

China has now reported 82,735 cases and 4,632 coronavirus deaths.

Of the total cases, 77,062 have recovered and been discharged from hospital, according to the health commission.

Out of the 16 new cases, nine were imported. Six are related to Heilongjiang Province on China’s northeastern border with Russia. The border area has seen a recent rise in Covid-19 infections.

In a separate count, 44 new asymptomatic infections were reported by the NHC. There are currently 999 asymptomatic cases under medical observation.